The first thing that anyone mentioned to us about moving here is that the traffic is terrible. It's true. In the less than 20 times I've been in a car during the first two month, we have often been at a standstill - especially if you head out of town.
Enrique Penalosa, mayor of Bogota from 1998-2001, gets the credit for creating hundreds of km of bike lanes and bus lanes all over the city and for strongly improving the city and its Ciclovia. He has a philosophy that pedestrians have the same rights as cars, so that a bus filled with 80 people deserves the space of 80 cars, and large sidewalks. He created the Transmilenio bus system (dual bus lanes in both directions) that gives buses a private lane. He wanted to transform the idea of bus - that the people never use the word "bus" - he changed the color, design and name of these massive system.
Problems that existed in Bogota:
- there were very few sidewalks
- people parked their cars all over
- too many cars (idea to put more money into the highway system - built for cars - is immoral)
- few recreational spaces for the poor
- high crime rate (more killed from cars and motos than from the guerrilla warfare)
Good videos on Bogota's transportation transformation:
- PBS E2 (squared)'s program: Bogota: Building a Sustainable City
- TED talk by Enrique Penalosa
Think about how to make better community where you can live...
Saludos,
Saludos,
Avila
